Thank You for Loving Me
by ladymars
Summary: After a mission goes awry, Duo starts to realize what true love is. Yaoi (2x1)


Thank You for Loving Me

Lady Mars

A/N: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I sure wouldn't be doing this….. This is my first shot at ANY yaoi paring, so be merciful on my soul. Here goes nothing…

***

Heero lay on the cold concrete floor motionless. He had been in this same catatonic state for the past few days. At the start of this escapade, the mission had seemed easy to the Perfect Solider. He had to go into the technological facility, delete all the files, and blow up the entire building. Simple. That was until half of his plan backfired. He had intended to get to Wing, fly off, and then detonate the bomb. What happened was his exact worst fear. He had barely hit the door to the room when the bomb detonated out of the blue. The force of the explosion sent him rocketing into the wall outside of the room and into unconsciousness. When he had awoken, he was still lying in the hall, but now seven very large security guards loomed above his small form. He had been taken to the cellblock and everything had gone down hill from there. He had been beaten horrendously numerous times every day. He had all ready reset his entire right leg nine times and the pain wasn't improving each time he did. He stared at the pool of blood slowly coagulating blood around him. It seemed like an endless process, everyday he was beaten repeatedly and; he shuddered against the thought, the sticky liquid between his legs said enough. His life had become unbearably miserable in the course of five days: on the first day, he'd lost all self-mobility and the guards had taken his cold weather gear making him impossibly cold. The second, third, and fourth day had lead to countless beatings. And most recently, his vision had severely blurred; he couldn't see two feet in front of him. He was even more miserable because of his broken promise. _'I told him I'd be home in time for his birthday. He was so excited when I told him we'd go out to dinner, just him and me. And now, I'm in this hellhole going to die from frostbite or blood loss. And I never got to tell him…'_ A single tear slid down his face and into the blood pool. He wanted to go home, wanted to be way from the suffering, and back with his lover. He sighed; there was no way he was getting out of here with out help. He shut his eyes out of custom when the cell door swung open and light flooded the room. _'Here we go again.'_ He listened intently as the footsteps neared his broken body. The person stooped down to him and ran their fingers across his face in a loving fashion. The person then stood up and made their way around to the front of the Wing pilot. Heero remained motionless as the person picked him up and walked out of the cell. He had become accustomed to this sort of transportation, but there was a degree of urgency in the person's step. He listened as a door swished open and shut and as the person let out an exasperated sigh. 

"Now what am I supposed to do?" Heero's mind raced at the voice, it seemed so familiar. He slowly opened his eyes and winced at the brightness of the room. When his eyes adjusted, he caught a glance of a black winter coat. He tilted his head and saw the one thing he had been hoping for. He swallowed a few times to moisten his parched throat.

"Duo?" he croaked. Duo whipped his head around and then looked at Heero and smiled. Duo lowered himself to the floor and helped Heero sit up.

"Hey there," he said quietly. Are you doing?" Heero inhaled to answer, but it came out as a pained gasp because one of his broken ribs had shifted. "I'm going to take that as a not so well." Heero dropped his head. Duo smiled at him and gently ran his hands through Heero's hair. Heero moved closer into Duo's embrace. The pair stayed like this for a few tender moments until Duo shattered the peacefulness. "I hate to say this," he muttered. "But we really need to get out of here soon." Heero nodded and struggled to his feet. He stood unassisted for a few moments, but the pressure was too much on his beaten body and he crumpled into Duo's waiting arms. Duo went to pick him up again, but changed his mind. He shifted Heero back to let him lean on a near by table while he shucked his coat. He handed the outer ware to Heero who looked back at him questioningly. "I'll be fine, it's not that far to Deathscythe." Heero slowly pulled the coat on and Duo scooped him up again. "And don't worry about Wing, Wufei swung by on his way home and took it back with him. It's still in one piece." Duo made his way to the door, stuck his head out into the hall to check if it was clear, and then took off in a dead run; he wanted out of there, FAST. After a few minutes, Duo slammed through another door, hurling the pair out into the cold air. Heero shivered in the frigid air, but it didn't phase Duo in the least. The Deathscythe pilot ran as fast as he could, leaving plumes of snow in his wake. He continued to run until they came upon the lumbering form of Deathscythe. Duo shifted Heero onto his back and started to climb the ladder to get to the cockpit. It was a long span of time for the two pilots who, on their own, could have climbed the stretch in nothing flat, but as a pair, was taking forever. Dou let out a content sigh when he finally reached the top and swung Heero around to his original position. He propped Heero against the edge of the door while he climbed into the cockpit and got situated. When he was, he pulled Heero into his lap and shut the hatch. Heero shifted to make himself more comfortable as Duo set up to take off. After a few moments, the pair was off.

"Finally," Duo mumbled, watching each screen carefully. He leaned over Heero and pushed a button on an upper console. 'Well… That was quite the adventure, huh Heero?" The Wing pilot didn't reply. "Heero?" He still didn't reply. Duo looked down at his lover to see him curled up, clinging to his coat, fast asleep. He smiled at him. "I should have guessed."

***

Heero slowly opened his eyes and shut them very rapidly again; the light in the room was FAR to bright for his sensitive eyes. As he waited for his eyes to adjust, he listened carefully to se if anyone else was present. 

"It will take quite some time, but he will make a full recovery."

"How long?"

'It's really hard to tell at this point."  
"How long?"

"Physically? It depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Well, since almost his entire leg has been broken numerous times, we need to put plates in so it will heal properly, but there are two ways of going about that."

"What are the options?"

"Shatter the entire leg now and surgically put the plates in or let it heal as is and then put the plates in." 

"Which is more efficient?"

"I don't know. I'd have to get in contact with the surgeon." There was a slight pause.

"Is there anything else wrong with him?"

"Well…Psychologically…" There was another, longer, pause. 

"I get it. How long?"

"That will be up to him. It could be two weeks or two years; it all depends." Heero slowly opened his eyes. The view he got wasn't clear, but it was better than before. Across the room he could see, sort of, Sally and Duo having a conversation. He assumed that was who was talking. Duo slowly broke off from Sally and approached his bed.

"Hey there," he whispered, leaning over the railing. Heero looked back him, a few drops of fear in his eyes. Sally too walked over to Heero. Duo looked up at her. "Are you sure he'll be all right?" Sally nodded. 

"Heero," she said softly. "Aside from the pain, is there anything else wrong?" He nodded. "What?" He stared at her for a moment, trying to find a way to answer her. He turned to Duo. 

"He seemed to have problems speaking earlier." She looked at Heero.

"Is that so?" He nodded. She flipped out her penlight and peered down his throat. "That would explain a whole lot." She stepped back and shut off the light. "His throat is almost completely swollen shut." Heero sighed. Duo gently ran his fingers through Heero's blood caked hair. 

"It'll be ok." Heero sighed again.

"Sally?" Sally turned to the door to see a nurse standing there. "Sanderson is here." She nodded and turned back to Duo. "I'll be right back." Duo nodded and watched her leave. He then turned back to Heero. Heero had his eyes shut and was breathing rather uneasily. Duo sighed. _'I know I was mad at him at the time, but I never wanted something this bad to happen to him. I feel so horrible. I wanted to chew him out when he got home, but now…'_ _Duo_ looked up as Sally entered again with another woman following her. 

"Duo," she said. "This is Emma Sanderson, our chief surgeon."

"Hi," Emma said.

"Hi," Duo replied dryly. Emma turned to Sally and looked at her funny.

"He's having a bad day," Sally replied. Emma nodded. "Dr. Sanderson has been called down to explain what REALLY is going on." Heero looked at her strangely. Emma pulled out a few x-rays of Heero's leg.

"To put it bluntly," Emma said. "This is a disaster area. I have no intentions on finding out how it got this bad, but I do intend on fixing it. Now there are two ways of doing this." She flicked the light off behind the x-rays. "The first would be to completely shatter the bones and install the plates surgically. This would result in at least three months of required healing time and another eight months of therapy before he'd be back up to capacity." Heero's eyes widened. _'Une's NOT going to like this,'_ Duo thought. "The other option would be to let it heal as is and then install the plates. Now, granted, it does have a shorted recovery time now, after the plates are installed, it would be four to five months to heal and up to a year before he'd be back up to capacity." Duo blanched.

"Does he really NEED these plates?" Duo asked anxiously.

"Actually, he could live without them, but it would make him more susceptible to easy breaks and tissue damage." Duo sighed; this wasn't going to be and easy decision. Heero gently reached up and placed his hand on Duo's. Duo looked down at him and melted. Heero looked like an innocent child who just wanted to go home. Duo sighed again. 

"Can you shatter it without causing him any pain?" Duo asked with a slight hint of agitation.

"Oh, of course. It would be no problem." 

"Well, then we'll go with the first option." Duo squeezed Heero's hand gently. 

"Ok then. We'll just get him up to surgery and he'll be out of here before night fall." Heero looked up at Duo nervously, as they prepared to wheel him off. 

"I'll be here when you wake up." He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before releasing his hand. Heero sighed as they wheeled him out of the room. Sally leaned over and picked up his right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Hero turned to look at her. 

"You'll be ok, I promise." Heero smiled weakly at her; he sure hoped so.

***

Duo sat impatiently in the waiting room. It had been three hours all ready and Heero still wasn't out yet. Sally assured the Deathscythe pilot he was ok, but it still didn't make him feel any better. He had given Sally a change of clothes for Heero and was sent to wait there. _'DAMNIT! What is taking SO long?'_ Duo shifted nervously again; this was taking far too long for the Deathscythe's Pilot's liking. After a few more agonizing minutes, they wheeled Heero out of the surgical theatre and Emma walked out behind him. Duo stood up, grabbed his coat, and walked over to her. She smiled as he approached.

"The surgery was a complete success," she said. Duo let out a sigh of relief. "He'll be waking up soon, so if you want to go see him, go ahead." Duo smiled at her and walked off in the direction that they took Heero. He stalked down the corridor until he found Heero's room. He pushed the door open quietly, walked in, pulled a chair up next to Heero's bed, and took his hand into his. He sighed; this could take a while.

***

Heero slowly opened his eyes; this time, the view being clear. He turned to see Duo sitting at his bedside, smiling at him. Duo smiled back gently at his lover. 

"Hey," Duo said quietly. "You glad all of this is all done now?" Heero nodded. "Sally's having your prescriptions filled and then she said she wanted to do last "once over" before she lets you go." Heero nodded and shut his eyes again; he was so tired and he couldn't figure out why, he'd been asleep for hours. Duo, too, shut his eyes. He was physically and emotionally drained; all he wanted to do was go home and go to bed. Sally stepped up to him and cleared her throat; Duo's eyes flew open. He turned slowly and looked at Sally. She handed him a white bag.

"All of those are for Heero." Duo blanched. "They're all liquid because I can't expect him to swallow pills with a swollen throat. I also put an antibiotic in there because a few of the wounds were infected and he might have caught something. He's all clear to take all of those at the same time, but watch the side effects, some can be rather discomforting." Duo sighed. Sally made a move to tell him in more detail, but he motioned for her to stop.

"Please, I'll read them myself, thank you." Sally nodded. "When can he leave?"

"Whenever you're ready." Duo nodded and Sally slowly walked out. When he turned back to Heero, he was asleep again. _'I guess I'll wait to take him home until he wakes up.'_

***

Duo gently placed Heero down on their bed. The Wing pilot shifted to a more comfortable position. 

"Can I get you anything?" Heero shook his head. "Are you sure?" He nodded. "Ok. I'll be back in a few minutes." Heero nodded and Duo stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He sighed. It had been a long day for him and it wasn't getting any shorter. Heero had read all of the side effects to his medication at the hospital with Duo and the pair wasn't too shocked at them; it seemed to be the standard array of nausea, drowsiness, dizziness, bloody noses, standards on most medication. He had no idea how he was going to get Heero to swallow all of that crap, quite frankly, he wouldn't swallow it if his life depended on it. Most of it looked unappetizing, the rest smell like…. Well, things that weren't to pleasant smelling. He would get Heero to swallow them, somehow. _'I'll be up shit creek if I can't…'_ Duo prepared to go back upstairs when the phone rang. _'Damn it. Who is calling me NOW?'_ He stepped over to the phone and picked it up.

"Maxwell."

"Duo? It's Quatre." 

"Oh, hey man. What's happening?"

"Not much. I just wanted to see how your birthday went." 

"Oh… It went pretty well." _'I hate lying, but it isn't exactly lying…. I'm just not telling him everything…'_ "I enjoyed my peaceful night at home." He slowly made his way up the stairs. 

"Peaceful night at home? I thought you and Heero went out?" Do pushed the door to the room open and stepped inside. He turned to look at Heero, who was, once again, fast asleep. _'Doesn't he get enough sleep? I swear every time I see him, he out again. I'm never going to get to ask him WHAT HAPPENED!'_

"Well, ya see… We WERE going to go out, but we got side tracked." He set the medication on the end table next to Heero and walked around the bed and sat down next to the sleeping Wing pilot. 

"Side tracked?" Duo pulled Heero's sleeping form closer to him and began to run his fingers through the mop of brown hair. Heero shifted closer in the embrace. 

"Yeah. Well… Heero had a mission two days before and he kinda, well… He didn't make it back in time."

"Didn't make it back in time?"

"Yeah. Something back fired."

"What?"

"I don't know. All I know is he got caught." Quatre gasped.

"Is he ok?" Duo looked at his sleeping lover.

"You could say that."

"Duo."

"He got pretty beaten up while he was there." Duo sighed. "I just got him home a few minutes ago." 

"How bad is it?" The concern for his comrade was dripping in Quatre's voice. Duo sighed and tried to figure out how he'd tell his partner without making him too distressed.

"It's bad. Not like deathly bad, but he'll be out of the running for a while."

"How long is he going to be out?" Duo thought back to what the surgeon had said.

"Six to eight months."

"Six to eight MONTHS? Are you sure?"

"Yep. At least that's what the surgeon said."

"Surgeon?"

"Yeah. Heero's leg had been broken so many times that Gundanium plates had to implanted to get it to heal properly."

"Are you kidding?"

"Do you think I could make something like this up?"

"Ouch. Anything else?"

"Mostly cuts and bruises, things he can get over pretty quickly." 

"That sucks. You told Une yet." Duo snorted.

"No. I'm not exactly in the best mood to be dealing with her." Heero coughed quietly in his sleep and Duo instinctively put his hand on Heero's forehead. He pulled it back sharply at it's extreme warmth. _'Fabulous, he's not only injured, now he's sick.'_ "I'll call her tomorrow. At least then I'll have a come back for when she chews me out about her "ace pilot" being injured and sick."

"And sick? You didn't say he was sick."

"Well, I didn't know he was sick till a few seconds ago."

"Oh. What are you going to do if you get a mission?" Duo's faced dropped; he hadn't thought of that.

"I hadn't thought of that Q. I'm not sure."

'If you want, I could watch him." 

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah. Or, hang on. WHAT WAS THAT? OH, OK! Sorry, Trowa was talking from the bathroom and I couldn't hear him. He said if you don't want to leave, he'd be more than glad to take the mission for you." Duo smiled.

"Tell him thanks for the offer later. If I need any help, I'll make sure to call you guys when the need arises."

"Ok. WHAT? WHAT? WHAT IS HE SHOUTING ABOUT?" Duo moved the phone away from his ear; for being a timid Arabian, Quatre could shout with the best of them. "OH, OK. I'LL CHECK. Sorry again. Wufei was shouting something at Trowa and thus Trowa was shouting at me again." _'God, we sound like one really dysfunctional family.'_ "Wufei wants to know if Wing is damaged."

"No. It came out unscathed."

'That's good. IT'S OK!" Duo shook his head. Had they been in that household, Heero wouldn't have been sleeping as peacefully as he was. "Well, I just wanted to check up. I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, later."

"Bye Duo!"

"Bye Q." He hit the button to shut off the phone and set it on his nightstand. He shut off the light and shifted back to his original position, pulling the blanket up around him and Heero. He smiled at Heero's sleeping form. _'If anyone thinks that this killer can be sweet, then they're all fools.'_ Duo thought back to the earlier days of their relationship.

__

Duo sat nervously on the steps to their latest safe house. He was excited because today was the day Heero was going to teach him how to drive a stick shift. 'I can't wait!'_ Duo thought to himself. It had taken him months to get the Wing pilot to open up, but now that he was, his life had become more exciting. Duo stood up as Heero pulled around to the front of the house in his convertible. The cherry red Corvette had been a surprise birthday present form Quatre. The Wing pilot enjoyed every moment he got to drive the beautiful machine. _

"You ready to go?" Heero questioned, lowering his sunglasses to get a better look at Duo. Duo nodded and sat down in the passenger side. The pair drove on in silence until they reached an empty parking lot. Heero shut the car off, pulled up the parking brake, and climbed out of the car. Duo shifted into the driver's seat and Heero took Duo's place. 

"Ok," Heero said looking at Duo. "To start the car, you have to push in the clutch and turn the key." Duo did as he was told and the car started. "Now put your right foot on the brake and release the parking brake." Duo did so. "Now SLOWLY release the clutch and push on the gas." Duo didn't move fast enough, causing Heero to bash his head on the dashboard and the car to stall. Duo turned white as he watched his lover sit up, rubbing his head. 

"OH MY GOD! I AM SO SORRY!" Heero looked at him.

"It's ok," he replied. "It's a common mistake made by beginners and it didn't hurt that much." He slid his seatbelt on. "Now start the car and try it again." Duo did so; this time he didn't stall the car. After a few hours, Duo had gotten the hang of the car and Heero had him drive home. Duo smiled, Heero had spent the latter half of the afternoon basking in the sun. The wind plucked at his brown locks and he seemed generally content with himself. He shifted to get a better look at the side mirror and froze. Duo took another look at Heero and became worried. Heero turned around in his seat and was looking behind him.

"Shit," he hissed. He turned back to Duo. "Pull over."

"What?"

"PULL OVER." Duo didn't argue with the Wing pilot. Heero climbed out of his side of the car and Duo moved over. Heero jumped over the door and shifted the rear-view mirror. He then put it in first, slammed on the gas, and sped off in a plume of dust.

"Heero, what's going on?" Duo asked, worried.

"We're being chased by OZ," he replied flatly, weaving in and out of traffic. Duo turned around to see the OZ members drawing closer to them on motorcycles.

"Oh shit." Duo turned back around. "Now what?"

"We try to out run them." Heero smashed the brakes and cut the wheel to the left. He put the car back into first and tore off in the direction that they had just come from. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Since they were so close to us, turning around will give us a head start and a chance to loose them." Duo just stared at Heero as he drove along. "What?" 

"Absolutely nothing." Duo turned back to the road. Heero was weaving in and out of traffic, pissing many a person off. The whole ride went like this. When they arrived home, Duo shakily stepped out of the car. 

"That was pretty good for your first time out." Duo stared at Heero like he had grown another head. 

"ARE YOU CRAZY? OZ CHASED US! WE COULD HAVE DIED!" Heero smiled at him.

"I'm not crazy, I'm just an adrenaline junkie." He stepped into the house. Duo stood there, stunned.

"Heero just cracked a joke? WHAT CRUEL WORLD HAVE I FALLEN INTO?"

Duo sighed, looking at his sleeping lover. _'Some things never change.'_ He snuggled closer to Heero and fell asleep.

***

Duo was dreaming peacefully until something shattered his sleep. He sat up and looked around the room. _'What IS that god awful noise?'_ He searched some more until he realized it was the phone. He picked it up off of the nightstand where he left it.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"You keep talking like that and you'll lose your job." Duo sat up, awake now.

"Lady Une. How are you?"

"Great. I'll be better when you tell me where the hell Yui's report is."

"Sorry Lady, he hasn't gotten to it yet."

"AND WHY THE HELL NOT?"

"He got captured and I just got him home yesterday." There was a brief silence.

"Oh. I'm sorry I bothered you."

"It's no problem."

"Well then, I will talk to you later."

"Yeah."

"Good-bye." She hung up. Duo set the phone down and ran his fingers through his hair. He crawled out of Heero's embrace and into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and began to think. _'I hate it when people butt into our life! But, to think, if someone hadn't, we wouldn't be together...'_

Duo sat staring at the other pilots. Wufei and Trowa had conjured up the idea to play drinking games that night. They had been caught in the safe house for a few days and they were all going crazy. So here they all were, trying to loose that craziness together. 

"OK," Trowa muttered. "I say we start with "Truth.'" Duo shrunk back at the idea. The game was relatively simple, someone makes a statement, if you've done it, you drink if you haven't, you don't. "Let's see…. I've never done it." Four out of the five pilots drank; Heero didn't move. Duo stared at him, surely he had some relation with the Peacecraft chick.

"I've never been kissed," Quatre said. Once again, everybody drank but Heero. By now the Wing pilot was staring at the table and Trowa was staring at him. 

"I've never been on a date," Wufei added, following on the same course. Heero still didn't move. By now everyone was staring at him. Trowa smiled at a wicked thought he had.

"I think we need to change the game." Quatre went to protest but Trowa's look silenced him. "Truth or Dare." Duo smiled, he like the idea. Heero made no motion to answer, Wufei agreed, and Quatre did too. "Ok then, it's agreed. Yui, truth or dare?" Heero's head shot up at the question. 

"TRUTH!" he spat without thinking. 

"Ok…Were you lying when you said you've never been kissed?"

"No," he replied quietly. Duo spat out his drink at Heero's answer.

"Wow," Quatre murmured. "Ok then…. Heero, truth or dare?"

"Truth," he replied again.

"Have you ever loved anyone?"

"Yes." Wufei grinned wickedly; he had an idea.

"Yui, truth or dare?" Heero looked up at Wufei.

"Dare." He had caught on to Wufei's plan.

"Shit. I have no ideas." Trowa leaned behind Quatre to give Wufei an idea. "OOOH… ILIKE THAT! Ok, Yui, you and Maxwell have to play seven minutes in heaven." Duo spat his drink out again.

"HEY!" he shouted. "I DIDN'T SAY DARE!"

"Tough crap," Wufei replied, dragging him to his feet. "You're in it now." He shoved Duo into the closet with Heero and locked the door. "I'll be back in seven minutes." Duo let out an agitated sigh and sat down on the floor across from Heero.

"I'm sorry I got you into this mess," Heero mumbled staring at the floor again. 

"It's ok," he replied. "I really don't mind."

"I feel like a clod for saying anything. I wouldn't BE in this position if I had lied."

"Yeah, but what good would that do you?"

"Not much, I guess." They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"So, who did you love?" Heero blushed at the question. "Aw man, don't be embarrassed about it." He didn't say anything. "I won't laugh at you." He set his hand on Heero's knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I swear." Heero looked at him.

"You swear?" Duo nodded. "Well, I've always sorta liked you." His words had died off at the end. Duo sat there, unable to speak. Heero looked at Duo worriedly. "Great, now I've done it, you hate me." Duo stared at Heero. A few tears slid from the pilot's eyes. Duo reached up and brushed them away. 

"I'm not mad at you." He slid his hand behind Heero's neck. "You wouldn't believe how long I have waited to hear you say that." He pulled Heero in for a short, gentle kiss. When the pulled away, Heero looked a little shocked. "Now you can say you've been kissed." The door swung open and Trowa stood there.

"ALL RIGHT! TIMES UP!" He walked off. Duo stood up and helped Heero to his feet.

"Now what?" he asked.

"We get Wufei and Trowa back for that." Heero smiled.

"Sounds like a good idea."

Duo stepped out of the shower wearing only his long black pants. He looked at his sleeping lover lovingly. _'God bless the guys for small favors.'_

***

Duo stepped back into their room, Heero's breakfast in hand. He smiled when he saw Heero sitting up. 

"Good morning!" Heero turned and smiled at Duo. "How are you feeling?" Heero shrugged. "Anything hurt?" He shook his head. "Well, just because nothing hurts DOESN'T mean you're getting out of taking your meds." Heero made a face. "I bet they taste as bas as they smell." Heero nodded. "Well, if you don't take them, it'll take you much longer to get better. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Heero shook his head. "Good." Heero swallowed everything he was supposed to and ate his breakfast. Duo picked the tray back up and handed Heero his laptop. "Une wants the report." Heero nodded and began typing. Duo slipped out of the door. He padded back into the kitchen thinking about another time, once again.

__

Duo stepped into the house, exhausted. He had spent the last two days on the most antagonizing mission of his entire life. All he wanted was to crash on the bed and sleep for the next two weeks. As he slowly made his way to the kitchen, he thought he heard someone singing. 'Singing? The only person home is Heero and he DOESN'T sing.' _He moved around the corner and into the kitchen and saw, of all people, Heero standing there. The Wing pilot was wearing long, loose black pants, no shirt, and was cooking._

"I'm closer to where I started, chasing after you. I'm falling even more in love with you, letting go of all I've held on to, I'm standing here until you make me move, I'm hanging by a moment here with you." 

"Heero?" Heero spun around to face him. Heero looked like a deer caught in the headlights. 

"Duo."

"What exactly is going on here?" 

"I was planning dinner for you and the guys. It was supposed to be surprise." Duo stared at his lover.

"And I ruined it by coming home early." Heero looked at the floor. "I'm sorry." Duo moved foreword and pulled Heero into a hug. "I didn't know."

"It's ok," Heero replied, deadpan. 

"How can I make it up to you?" Heero looked up.

"You can go upstairs and shower, you're a mess." Duo ruffled Heero's hair. And headed off towards their bedroom. When he returned, Heero stood outside the kitchen, in a black sweater, talking to Quatre. Quatre smiled as Duo approached. 

"It seems our plotting was foiled." Duo draped himself over Heero.

"Yeah, so what? We can still have a good time, right hun?" Heero smiled. "Let's get eating. I'M STARVING!" 

Duo smiled at his own exuberance. He slowly made his way back upstairs. _'I'm so luck to have him sometimes. He may not seem it, but he's the sweetest person I've ever met. I just don't think he knows…'_ He swung the door open and looked at Heero. Heero sat on their bed, his head hanging, playing with a small box. 

"Heero?" Duo questioned, approaching him. Heero looked up at Duo and back down again. "Are you ok?" He shook his head. "What's wrong?" He leaned over and pulled a piece of paper off of the nightstand. He handed it to Duo. Duo stared at Heero's messy handwriting.

__

Duo-

I'm so sorry. I never meant to ruin your birthday. It seems with everything I try to do that's in any way romantic or kind, it ends up getting screwed up. I should really stop trying; I'm not worthy of everything you give to me. I just don't understand how everything I do ends up wrong. I'm sorry for all the pain and torment I've caused you and I hope you can forgive me eventually.

Heero

Duo stared at the Wing pilot.   
"What on Earth…?" Heero handed him the box he was playing with. Duo slowly tore open the paper and opened the small box. He gasped at its contents. Inside, was a small silver bracelet. Engrave on its out surface were two dragons, one black and one white, holding onto each other. On the inside there was one simple phrase engraved: Thank you for loving me. Duo shut the box and whipped away a tear that had rolled down his cheek. 

"Oh Heero." He hugged the Wing pilot. "I don't know what to say. This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. And even with all you've done wrong and everything that had gone wrong you've done one thing that was always right." Heero looked up at him, confused. "You've always loved me." Heero smiled and returned the embrace. The pair remained like this for a long while.

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Finis

***

*Authouress sits, leaning on her hand. *

Duo: Is something wrong?

I've done it again. An entire chapter, no, STORY that is COMPLETE SAP!

Duo: So?

I CAN'T STAND SAP!

D: We've all ready had this conversation. I can't help.

True. 

D: Any way, I've got a bone to pick with you.

About?

D: The number of times that you could have turned this into a…

DON'T GO THERE! I AM NOT WRITING ONE OF THOSE YET!

D: But, but, but.. *Authouress pulls out her sword. * Ok, never mind. *Duo runs off. *

Hypocrites. 

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End file.
